Hallways
by Stealthreader50
Summary: This is a Talya/Callie story so beware of that. It's about how these two girls come to find each other when they both thought they were all alone. Doesn't take place during a specific time in the show. It's rated M because I never know what I might put in here.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, this is your fantastically terrible author here. Just a couple things. I'm not perfect, but I'm definitely open to hints and suggestions. I actually went through and fixed some atrocious grammar mistakes, but alas, my grammar is nowhere near perfect, so feel free to correct me. Warning: I update when I feel like it so be prepared to wait months or even years for a new chapter. I hope you find some joy in this.

Chapter #1:

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters at all, they belong to ABC family, I'm just borrowing them. If I owned these characters I would be rich enough to actually be a writer.

Callie's POV-

I woke up to the sound of my phone going off and quickly tried to shut it off as fast as possible.

"God, another morning. Ugh." I know, not the most optimistic words but then again I'm not an optimistic person.

After stumbling out of my room with my towel and a change of clothes, I make my way to one of the two bathrooms on this floor of this house.

"Five kids and no one bothered to invest in another bathroom?" I mutter to myself, not really blaming Stef or Lena. I'm surprised they can even keep a house this large running and still live comfortably. I almost trip over myself walking into the still empty bathroom and I quickly strip. Before walking into the shower, I take a moment to look at myself.

Boring, lifeless hair.

Bags under my eyes.

Everything was as it normally is. Apparently I'm pretty or something, but I often find that hard to believe, and please don't give me the "You're so beautiful, have more self-confidence" bullshit because I think that if you'll look around, you'll find only idiots and fools have self-confidence. Everyone else is just good at hiding it.

Anyways, enough of this rambling. I step into the now steaming hot shower and take in its warmth. Sometimes I think I have my most intellectual thoughts in the shower because people rarely interrupt you when you're in one. Plus, I wake up extra early just to insure that I get these precious 30 minutes in the bathroom alone. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way a morning person, I just do what I have to. Once I'm done, I make my way downstairs.

"Yo, what's up?" I say to Jude who's eating breakfast and ruffle his hair. He's a good kid; I'd do a lot for him. He's my brother you know? I love him. Anyways I go over and put the kettle on to boil for some tea.

I used to drink coffee but Stef and Lena didn't want me to. I tried to tell them that if not coffee I'd need some caffeinated substitute so that I could pretend I felt more awake than I was. They agreed that Earl Grey was a good substitute. Strangely enough, though I drank my coffee black, I like my tea with a little honey. I guess we all have our quirks.

"Morning Cals."

"Morning Brandon" I respond halfheartedly, hoping he didn't want to converse. Sure, he was like a brother to me but I was not in the mood. Mornings are for brooding not talking. Thankfully, he seems to know the introvert code and acknowledges my distaste for talking at the moment, choosing instead to nod in my direction.

Soon everyone's downstairs. Even Jesus and Mariana are down here so we all get our stuff and start walking to school. I kind of like it. Walking to school I mean. There's a nice feeling in slowly becoming acquainted with the notion of school through the gradual build up of noise and mayhem rather than just driving in a car and getting thrown into the middle of the chaos. Also, having a school right next to the beach is also a bonus because you can watch the waves come in before class instead of trying to make heads or tails of the packs of teenagers. _Who even thought that grouping teenagers by the hundreds was a good idea? Just accidents waiting to happen._ Thing is I'm actually pretty talkative. Just inside my own head of course so I guess that doesn't really count.

"Hey, how's my favorite misfit?" I turn around from looking at the beach to see Wyatt smirking in my direction. He walks over to give me a warm hug.

"Oh you just depressed and angry at the society that casts me out. Watch me sulk and brood as I stare moodily out into the ocean wishing for someone to connect with." I turn to the ocean and put on my best constipated face, trying and failing to not smile. Wyatt bursts into laughter at my expression.

"What an attractive thing to see first thing in the morning."

"I am to please." I rub my face into his chest and enjoy his warmth. Everyone thinks Wyatt and I are dating but we're not. I'm always this touchy with guys, I'm actually just a touchy person but I have to restrain myself around my own gender because I would make a move on one otherwise. Yep, that's right I'm a flaming homosexual and so is Wyatt, that's why we're such good friends.

"Well, I better go to my dreaded math class, I've been putting it off and if I stay a moment longer I'll be late."

"As if that's ever stopped you before."I say to my best guy friend as I lightly shove him with my shoulder.

"Yeah well, when you're threatened with the combination of detention and being grounded you tend to see things in a new light. I'll see you later Callie."

"See you later." We go our separate ways. I enter the school to still crowded hallways because no one wants to go to class. I try not to run into anyone but apparently someone has a sense of humor up above because I immediately bump into something soft. _Smells nice_ I think before realizing what exactly I'm thinking. _Don't be a creep Callie, _I say to myself and look up to see Talya's face staring back at me. _Wow, she's hot. Wait shit, no this is Brandon's ex we are talking about here. _I always seem to have to remind myself of this fact whenever I see her, it was even worse when she was actually dating Brandon because it seemed like they were always making out. As if it was already hard enough to not stare.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry. You okay?" Talya doesn't respond for a moment, she seems to be just a shocked as me at this unexpected event. She seems to remember where she is and smiles at me in a way that makes me glad I'm not a guy.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Absolutely fantastic. I-I mean for walking into someone that is."_Just shut up now before things get any worse, _I try to tell myself, blushing.

"Wow." Talya just says and giggles a little. _Is she laughing at me? Oh god?_

"Sorry for uh, bumping into you. Again." I shift uncomfortably because I was never the best one at having conversations that last longer than ten seconds. Talya doesn't seem to have this problem as she just continues to talk to me.

"Don't worry its fine. Why don't you walk with me, we do both have the same class now." I just try to give what I thought was a smile, though it might have come out as more as a grimace. She seems to understand what I'm trying to achieve though because she just smiles right back. _Wow, what a smile. _If was more dramatic I might have inwardly sighed dreamily.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the wait to my few readers, I'm pretty inconsistent with my updates so you'll never know when I'll put out another chapter. Like always, feel free to message me; whether it be questions, hate mail, love letters, or just how your day was I don't care. Your suggestions and opinions are appreciated though.

Chapter 2:

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters at all, they belong to ABC family, I'm just borrowing them. If I owned these characters I would be rich enough to actually be a writer.

Talya's POV-

"Okay class, today we are going to be staring a new project. A _group _project; which means, you have to work in _groups._" Timothy, the English teacher sends a look Callie's way and she just rolls her eyes.

_That's kind of adorable the way she thinks she's being all rebellious. _Wait, what I am I thinking? She's the reason Brandon broke with me. Though, I guess upon further reflection he wasn't the _best _boyfriend. He always had that faraway look in his eyes, he never really tuned in. I just sigh and wait as Timothy calls out all the names of the groups.

"…Let's see and last but not least Callie and Talya." I glance over at Callie whose eyes widen a bit and for a second I swear I thought I saw her smile but it might have been my imagination because immediately she puts on her bored face again. _Hmm… interesting, I wonder if I imagined that because if I didn't this could be fun. _

"Now, I picked these groups for a reason so there will be no trading or switching of partners, got it." Around me the class just half-groans because no one's really that awake, except for me. I'm fine as long as I have my cup of green tea in the morning. "The point of this project is to get to know your partner, along with all their strengths and the cracks in their armor. Now, I know none of you want to open up to people you're not even friends with but this is for a significant percentage of your grade so maybe that will motivate you." The class lets out another grown tuning in now that they know this counts for a grade.

_This will be _soooo _much fun because Callie is _such_ a sharer. Pshhh, yeah right. _After waiting for the classroom to settle down again, Timothy continues with his directions.

"Anyways, after getting to know them you have to write a poem, story, or presentation, anything creative about them describing them. I want detail guys. Detail! And I want it to be interesting, don't give a list of all their character traits; show me what they're like; you can use pictures for all I care. Keep in mind that this is a poem, you have some leeway. Now this is all simple enough, the kick is that you'll have to take their biggest flaw and turn into a bonus." Timothy pauses here and waits for that to settle in. "Okay, now you guys can get together with your partner to work out times to meet up, times meaning multiple because you'll have to really spend some time with your partner and open up."

As everyone gets up to meet with their partner I walk over to Callie. "So partner, how are we going to do this? When and where do you want to meet up?"

"I don't care, there's no fighting it at this point. Whatever."

"Well, I've already read your journal so I say that we have a head start." Callie just looks up at me and gives me a strange look.

"I never really understood why you never did anything with that information, why not?"

I just shrug, "I don't know. I mean, I realize now that I don't really blame you for the whole Brandon thing. I realize now that you were never attracted to him...no it was the other way around." I mutter the end bitterly and look down, remembering when I realized that I couldn't blame on Callie what she wasn't at fault for.

"I-I'm sorry about that." Callie says softly, actually looking me in the eye when she says this. She seems really sincere and I'm taken aback by this abrupt niceness.

"It's cool like I said. I feel kind of bad though, I bet we could have been friends or something similar. I guess this project is kind of a second chance, huh?" Callie just shrugs. "Hey, are you going to be okay with this whole feeling sharing thing?"

"I think so, I'll get over it. Plus, if you didn't tell about…him, then I think we'll be okay. And, I'm not going to be the only sharing so if you know my secrets, I'll know yours and we'll be even." Callie nods, though more to herself than anything I think.

"Good point there. So why don't we just try to talk more at school and how about you come over to my place after school today?"

"Sure."

"Great!" As class ends and I start to walk away I remember something. "Oh, and feel free to sit with me at lunch, for real this time. Because of the video incident I don't really have that many friends anymore so you don't have to worry about other people." I try to smile but I know that it doesn't exactly come out right. Callie, once again looks surprised. _There's more to me than meets the eye I guess, _I think to myself.

"Yeah, that sounds cool." She smiles, but it isn't a bitter smile or sarcastic smirk this time it's a real smile and I'm shocked at how it transforms her face. _W-wow, pretty, I mean, uh, she would look nice if she smiled more_.

Callie's POV

_I can't believe I actually smiled at her and shit, what's up with me? _I question myself about my behavior in English this morning. I wonder how this project will go. I know I'll have to share about me but it's hard, I'm a lot better at it now that I've told everyone about Liam, but it's still not easy. As the class I was in ends, I walk into the hallway. It's lunch now so I have to decide what I'm going to do. _Should I sit with her? I kind of want to, but what if I let my emotions show again? _ As I'm pondering this I walk outside with my lunch.

This noise is really loud and I look around to see if I can find Wyatt. _He's probably somewhere making out with a guy. I swear, I think he's pretty much kissed every boy in this school. I think it's the luscious hair that drags them in, because god knows it isn't the eloquent use of his words. _I scan around to see if I can find an empty table when someone taps my shoulder from behind. I turn around to see the girl who has been occupying my thoughts since this morning.

"Hey! It looks like it's pretty crowded here, you want to go sit on the beach and watch the waves." Talya says this to me, smiling shyly, as if I would say no.

"Yeah, that sounds great actually. I kinda hate crowds if you could tell." _Well there you go, now I don't have to decide, plus the beach sounds nice._

"Noooooo, I had no idea." We both snicker there because I'm not exactly secretive of my dislike of people in groups of more than 5. We both start heading in the direction of the beach with her leading the way through the crowd. Once we're on the beach and away from the large group of people I relax a bit.

"So, where does the name Talya come from anyways? I've never seen it with that spelling before. It's pretty though." Talya blushes and looks at her feet. _Who would have thought, Talya blushed so easily! _

"It's nothing much it's really just a variation of Talia, you know spelled with an i."

"It's still cool though, I like the y." I mean it too, I've always like her name.

"So where does your name come from?"

"Well, actually it's short for California. You know how some parents name their kid Georgia? Well, my mom thought it was like, after the state or something so she did the same. She always said it because I was pretty like California."

"That's really sweet actually." I just look down, thinking about all the blurry memories I have of my mother.

We get to the more secluded part of the beach and sit down, watching the waves roll in. As we eat our sandwiches I sneak sideways glances at Talya. I can't really help it; she's just so pretty that you get drawn in. You see her once and you're captured.

Suddenly, I hear Talya chuckling at something, with her hand over her mouth. "What's so funny?" I ask her curious.

"It's nothing. It's just that who'd a thunk you and me would gaze meaningfully at the ocean together?"

"Did you just say 'thunk'?"

"Yep! Who'd a thunk is the best phrase that fits what I'm thinking."

"Okay, then. Whatever you say." I just chuckle, thoroughly amused by this girl in front of me, _Why would Brandon ever dump such an amazing girl? _Hmmm, good question self. Let's look into this since we are doing this for a project after all. I'm totally not just curious or anything. "So, you don't really have to answer this but uh, do you know why Brandon dumped you? 'Cus I asked him if I was at fault because I felt guilty for the whole Liam thing and he said it wasn't just because of me." Talya's face just gets thoughtful and after a moment of pondering it over she starts to talk.

"Well, because you were spending so much time with Brandon I was getting jealous, but the weird part is that I wasn't jealous of _you. _I guess maybe I was jealous that the person who is supposed to devote all their attention to me not doing it. It sounds kind of selfish, but I've felt that people never really pay attention to me, they look at me and hear me but they don't _see _me or _listen _to me. You know?"

"Yeah, actually. I do. I still don't understand though, why did you get so jealous."

"Ugh, I don't know" Talya runs her hands through her hair. "I just…whenever I saw you with him I'd get this rage in my chest. But it wasn't at you, it was never at you. I tried to tell myself it was you but it wasn't. I was…angry… at him I think if that makes sense. Because you seem like this cool person who deserves someone who'll like, get to know you before making a move on you. Because you deserve better than a quick fuck. And I see him talk to you, I see him just staring at your lips or chest or something and I get _so _angry. How dare not see you as the person you are, how he dare not always look you in the eye because that's where your soul is. How dare he be so blinded by his arousal that he can't what a fantastic person you are! It just makes me seethe!"

Once Talya finishes her tirade she seems relieved at first and she's panting a little from saying all of that so quickly and angrily. Then, as I see her realize what she said go a brighter red than her hair. I'm just kind of blown away. _Someone thinks I'm a fantastic person? _I'm also blushing, I don't think I've ever seen anyone ever care so obviously, it was…elating. "Y-you think I'm a cool person?" I say in disbelief.

Talya looks at me for a moment, eyes wide, and head titled to the side and she just bursts out laughing. Not the cute chuckles or giggles, she guffaws. She's laughing so hard that she has to bend over and starts gasping, out of breath. "I say…all these things" she gasps out and wipes away a tear, "and all you get…is that I called you a cool person?"

"Heh, yeah. Pretty silly thing to get caught up on I guess," I mutter embarrassed and turn my head. Talya's laughing has died down by now even though she's still smiling and she reaches over to gently pull my face to look at hers. "There is _nothing _to be embarrassed about that was adorable! You are adorable. You sure know how to take a compliment though." I blush even more fiercely and from the way my face feels it must at least be as red as hers was if not more. Talya sobers a little though and says more softly, "I guess you don't get those often, do you?"

"N-not really, no." Now that I think about it, I don't remember the last time I got a sincere compliment from someone.

Talya's hand is still on my face though it has shifted so she's holding one side of my face, her thumb stroking my face. I look into the eyes that are gazing at me so intently. _Those eyes, those eyes could suck you in. They're…breathtaking, what a shade of green, they almost look grey. And they're getting closer? _I realize that she's leaning in and I'm leaning right back. It feels like I'm on the edge of something big, like those eyes are a gateway and every second I get closer and closer to falling into them. We're so close that I can hear her inhale and I look down at her lips. They look so soft. My own lips part slightly and I tip my head so we don't collide. We're moving so slowly, one centimeter at a time, I can't even help myself. I couldn't stop now even if I wanted to. Her lips are so close, so very close and I can feel her breath on my own lips. _What's this feeling? _I feel butterflies; but not in my stomach, no they're in my chest, trying desperately to break free. Just as our lips are about to touch, I'm surrounded by wetness. Surprised I look down and I see that we're _fucking surrounded by water_.

"What the fu-" I scramble up before any more of my clothing gets soaked. _Are you fucking serious? What the fuck did I do to deserve this?_ I look up to see Talya standing next to me, looking just as shocked as me. We lock gazes, and there's a moment of silence until we both have these giant grins on our faces. Soon we're both laughing heartily. I glance over again, as I tend to do and once again I'm blown away by how beautiful she is in this moment. I just want to capture her face the way it is now. Before I forget, I whip out my phone and snap a picture of her.

"What was that for?" she questions still smiling as the laughing wears away.

"Your face. It was just so full of joy; I wanted a picture, to add to my collection."

"You're a photographer? That's perfect, I can finally have my own private paparazzi!" she gives me another smile, this time a joking one, a half smirk. I take another picture.

"With those smiles, I'm half-thinking of taking it on as a full-time career. I could sell pictures of you and become rich!" She shoves my shoulder gently.

"Flattery will get you nowhere!"

"I don't know…I think it could get me pretty far." I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively. _Did I just do that? _

"Oh my god, stop! Aren't you supposed to be the moody sarcastic girl, not the flirty goofball?"

"I don't know, you bring out the silliest in me." She laughs and shake her head.

"I can see that."

From the school, we can hear the bells signaling lunch is over. We both look at each other in surprised that time has passed so quickly. "Shit! We're going to be late! And wet!"We start running to the school, desperately to not get detention. Since we have math together we both run in the same direction and I don't know how but we end up holding hands. We both see the class and the door about to close, we let go of each other's hands and make a mad dash for the door, slipping in right before the teacher closes it. The moment we're inside the classroom, there's this moment of shock at our state. Everyone's eyes are on us and the teacher just says, "I don't even want to know what happened to you two, just sit down and try not to soak your homework."

I'm still giggling a little as I sit next to her, _That was so crazy!_


End file.
